Sunday, October 7, 2012

Quick note on Congress of Gamers

A very quick note after the first day of Congress of Gamers 2012: I spent most of the day in the designers room. Detailed notes to follow in a subsequent post.

I started off with a quick session of "Movie Plotz" by Alex Strang.

Next came a full-blown five-player session of "East India Company." It was very well received, despite the fact that my game-length issue has resurfaced. It took about four hours and twenty minutes to finish, including rules explanation. I think I'm back to the drawing board on pace.

Brad and Kevin playtesting "East India Company"

I got to play Darrell Louder's "Compounded" again, which I still really like. Dice Hate Me Games has picked it up with a Kickstarter Campaign planned for late October.

Darrell Louder's clever realization of a victory point track in the form of the Periodic Table of the Elements

Next was another Alex Strang design, "Diamond Ninja." I could definitely see getting this for my sons when it comes out.

Brad Smoley and Alex Strang in a three-player test of "Diamond Ninja"

I got to play Brad Smoley's "Phobos," a tile-laying area-control game of mining robots on the Martian moon.

Robots in caverns under the surface of "Phobos"

Last came Josh Tempkin's dice-management Indy car racing game called Deathmatch Dice (or something like that), after which Josh and I compared ideas for a potential game design.

It was a long day, very productive. I'll be back there Sunday, and hope to get in another playtest of "EIC."

About Me

Follow me on Twitter @PaulOwenGames. A long-time boardgamer and designer, fond of the fun and companionship of playing, with an appreciation for the mental challenge and elegance of a clever, well-designed game